Chestnuts for sale.

The city's police and inspectors will be carrying out spot checks on Rome's street chestnut sellers in an attempt to enforce the existing regulations controlling the sector.

The law requires chestnuts to be sold according to weight and not according to the number of chestnuts bought; however the latter is common practice among the capital's chestnut sellers. Transgressors face fines of up to 1,032.

The Christmas season and chestnuts seem to go hand in hand in Rome and are popular with locals and tourists alike. In stalls around Via Condotti, Piazza Navona and Via del Corso the current price is around 2.50 for 100 grams of chestnuts (approximately 6-7 chestnuts). Chestnut sellers usually get their chestnuts from the northern town of Viterbo (just outside of Rome) at around 10 a kilo so they can make substantial profits from their sales. There are currently around 29 authorised chestnut stalls in Rome.

Campo de' Fiori market offers a cheaper alternative for chestnut lovers. - it sells different types of chestnuts from areas such as Cuneo (Piedmont) Avellino (north-east of Naples) and Monte Amiata (Siena) ranging from 5-15 a kilo.